Summer Wildlife Control And Prevention Tips

Have you ever seen a black bear enjoying a little R&R in a hammock? Neither have we but one Florida homeowner did late last month. A black bear had been showing up all over the neighborhood raiding trashcans and bird feeders and decided to take a little break.

The story and accompanying images are a bit humorous but there is also some cause for concern. Neighborhoods attract all sorts of wildlife from raccoons and skunks to larger wildlife as this story illustrated. While these creatures may be interesting, there’s nothing amusing about the risks.

Here in St. Louis, we’ve not been getting a lot of calls for bears in hammocks but we’ve seen an increase in wildlife problems. Really it’s not all that surprising. Garbage cans filled with remnants of the previous day’s bbq, gardens in need of tending and other conditions that attract wildlife in the first place seem to be more prominent. For a summer free of unwanted and potentially damaging wildlife, we recommend taking a few minutes to review our summer wildlife control tips.

Don’t give wild animals a chance to sniff out your trash. We recommend using heavy-duty garbage cans that have tight-fitting, secure lids.

If you feed your pets outdoors, don’t let filled bowls stay out for long periods of time and especially not overnight.

Gardens and fruit trees that are in need of harvesting should be tended. If you don’t take the produce, wildlife will.

Lastly, as much as you may enjoy bird watching, we would urge you to think twice about bird feeders. Sure they attract birds but they also attract other wild critters.

In addition to not feeding the wildlife, you should also make sure your home is sealed up so that opportunistic critters can’t sneak in.

If you’ve already spotted wildlife on your property (or worse, in your home), do not attempt to evict or relocate these pests on your own. Wild animals are just that… wild. They are unpredictable and best left to trained professionals (like us).

Click here (l/residential-pest-control/wildlife-management) for more information on wildlife control in St. Louis and Mid-Missouri from Rottler Pest & Lawn Solutions.